Finding Our Way
by LunarWhispers
Summary: The Flock has been through it all together. Between finding Fangs sister Kai, defeating Itex, and the birth of Max and Fang's First child they have stuck by each other. But it's not over. Can they overcome the challenges ahead? Sequel to Our Crazy Lives.
1. A Tough Path to Follow

**A/N****: This is the sequel to Our Crazy Lives. I recommend reading that story first. I am soooo sorry for the delay in the posting of this story. I have had a lot going on recently. Not to mention my computer exploded (literally). I will probably update soon. I have the next few chapters written out on paper, I just need to type and edit them. Thank you so much so those who reviewed my previous sorry "Our Crazy Lives." I write for he fun of it, but it is so amazing getting feed back.**

**This chapter is kind of a prologue/ first chapter. **

**Ages:**

**Max, Fang, Iggy - 18**

**Kai-16**

**Nudge - 15**

**Gazzy - 12**

**Angel - 10**

**Leena- 4 1/2 months old**

**Disclaimer:**** If you recognize it odds are I don't own it. **

**Max POV:**

Leena squealed happily from her spot in my arms. It had been about four months since I officially rid the world of Itex. Leena was about four and a half months old now. She was bigger and could hold her head up pretty much on her own now. Her pitch black hair was getting longer and coming in curly. She hadn't really started to crawl yet but we figured she would soon. She was maturing at a normal rate despite being born larger than a pre-mature baby of her age should have been. In the months that follow the explosion at Itex we traveled a bit. We went back to Florida. We went to Disney for a week. It was nice to spend some time in the happiest place on earth without being attacked by man-wolves. We went back to New York as well. Mom called us while we where there and gave us an exact date of when we should be at her house. So we went to California and spent a few weeks just chilling on the beach. We were currently heading to Moms house. She was expecting us to be there in three days, but we would probably get there in two.

Leena pulled me out of my thoughts with another happy little baby noise. I smiled. Despite all of the things we have been doing recently, flying still topped them all. Leena's favorite thing to do was fly. Of course she couldn't really fly on her own yet, but she just enjoyed being in the air. We had cut slits in her little pink shirt so she could open her wings. When we were flying she liked having her back facing away from the person who was carrying her so she could unfurl her wings. I watched the wind ruffle her feathers. I know most parents say this, but she was simply perfect. I kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, you like fling with mommy don't you?" I cooed. She let out a small giggle.

The fact that the crew from the _Wendy K. _need our help wasn't the only reason we were headed to my moms. The last time my mom had seen Leena, we were hopping out a window to prevent people from finding us. Leena had grown so much since then and my mom really needed to see her. I send her pictures of Leena constantly, but I could tell from her messages and phone calls that she really missed her. Missed all of us.

Kai and Iggy were below me talking to each other That relationship had been going pretty well. They were getting pretty serious. Not quite Fang and I serious, but serious none the less. Angel must have been having a mind conversation with Nudge because both girls had smiles on there faces. They occasionally let out a small giggle. Gazzy had his ipod in his, sing the words softly to himself. More than twice I had to look over to assure myself it was still Gazzy and not Weird Al or something. I glanced over at Fang. He was flying quietly. So pretty much the same as usual. The wind swept his hair back so I could actually see his eyes. He must have felt me staring at him because he turned to look at me. Leena looked at him too. She smiled and began to babble. Fang chuckled quietly and waved at her. She clapped her hands quietly.

"I think Fangs going soft." Iggy laughed.

Kai kicked his arm. "Leave him alone." She laughed.

Fang rolled his eyes. Although he loved Leena, he hated people thinking he was a softy.

"Guys stop teasing Fang, come on lets land for some lunch." I laughed. Everyone else joined in.

**MRMRMRMRMRMRMR**

_**Two Days later.**_

"Remind me why we're walking?" Gazzy complained for the fiftieth time. He was shuffling his feet and his head was hanging.

"Keeping up appearances." I explained, shifting Leena from one hip to the other. "The last thing we need is someone spotting us."

Even though Itex was pretty much gone, I was still cautious. I mean I destroyed the head quarters, but that doesn't mean all of our enemies suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. All it means is the world was safe. Well from Itex at least. Plus people knew who we were. We were a couple of minutes away from my moms house and everyone was tired, hungry, and agitated. Leena's head was resting on my shoulder and her eyelids were dropping. Mom told us that Brigid Dwyer, Michael Papa, and the rest of the crew from the _Wendy K. _ were going to be meeting us there. Apparently they had another mission for us. I hoped it was somewhere warm, but with my luck we would be going to the bottom of the world. Again.

"Besides." I continued. "Were almost at my moms."

Iggy sighed loudly and put his arm around Kai's shoulders. Kai took Iggy's free hand and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Fang walked over to me, wrapped his arm around my waist, and began to rub Leena's back. She was asleep now. I smiled. The house came into view and I noticed a certain red head standing with my mom, waiting for us. Ella must have been at school or something. Brigid Dwyer looked up, saw us, and smiled widely. Her and my mom ran up to meet us. Mom immediately headed over to me, her eyes locked on the sleeping child in my arms. Brigid ran over to us as well, but her eyes were locked on someone else. Three guesses who. Brigid reached us first and immediately pulled Fang into a hug.

"Fang! It's so good to see you! It's been -what?- almost two years!" Brigid exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. After the sub adventure, we had only seen Brigid on or two time for smaller missions. Nothing really that big.

"Max!" Mom said, walking over to me. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Leena asleep in my arms. "Oh my goodness, she's gotten so big!"

"Yeah." I replied smiling.

Mom held her arms out. A silent request. I passed my daughter to her. Leena stirred slightly, but she didn't wake up. The constant traveling must have taken a lot out of her. She was so cute when she was sleeping. Just like Fang. Angel giggled. _Tell anyone I said, er, thought that and your dead!_ She din't reply, but I think that she got the message. Everyone headed inside leaving my mother and I alone.

"Oh Max." Mom breathed. "She's absolutely gorgeous." Mom cradled Leena proactively. She kissed her forehead. Leena sighed in her sleep.

"Yeah." I smiled.

"Well I have the girls sharing Ella's room. Gazzy and Iggy can share the pull out couch in the den. Brigid is on an air mattress in my office. You and Fang can have the guest room will Leena. I put a crib in there for her." Mom explained.

"Thank you so much mom." She was always doing everything for us. "I can't wait to see Ella. I've missed you both so much."

Mom smiled. "Why don't we go and surprise Ella at school. She really missed you all as well and I think she would be very happy if we picked her up early. Her break for the Holidays begins tomorrow anyway. I even have a baby car seat for Leena. I'm sure the Flock will be fine her with Brigid for a little while." Mom said, not taking her eyes off of Leena.

"Sure." I said nodding. "Let me just go put my stuff down and tell the others where I'm going."

Mom smiled, nodded, and then began to walk over to the car. I turned to walk into the house. The Flock was sitting on the couch eating some of my moms world famous chocolate chip cookies. Angel was on the floor catching up with Total and Akila. Apparently the two love sick pooches were trying to pick a date for there wedding and needed to know when we were all available to be there. Nudge must have been ecstatic. Now she had two weddings that she would be able to help plan. Gazzy was sitting on the coffee table. He was the one who was closet to the cookies. Surprise, surprise. Iggy was sitting on the large lounge chair. Kai was on the floor, leaning against his legs. Fang was on the couch, his arms resting on the back. Dr. Stupendous was sitting next to him, listening intently. apparently I had walked in just as they were explaining who Kai was.

" Wow." Brigid said. I'm so happy for you Fang!" I wanted to puke.

"Thanks." Fang replied, popping a cookie into his mouth. He looked up and saw me. A small smile grazed his face as he motioned for me to come and sit down on his other side.

I smiled back. "Can't. Mom and I are going to go and pick up Ella from school. You know to surprise her. We're going to take Leena with us. Just wanted to let you guys know where I was going to be." I explained.

His smile faded, but he shrugged. "Oh, okay."

Brigid looked at me, confused. "Who's Leena?"

Before I could answer, Fang spoke up. "Max's daughter."

I froze, but Brigid didn't seem to notice. Her eyes went really wide and she clung on to Fang's arm. "Oh my goodness Max had a baby!"

Fang nodded.

It was really quiet. What did he just say? _**Max's**_daughter? No. Our daughter. _**Max**_ had a baby? No! We had a baby. Our baby girl. Last time I checked it took two to have baby. Was he ashamed. Did he not want to admit to the red haired wonder that he had a child? Fang didn't seem to notice the sudden tension in the room. I turned on my heels and left the house. I would have to talk to Fang later.

**Iggy's POV:**

Fang was sooo in the dog house… or is it bird house? Whatever. All I know is the last thing anybody wants is an upset Max. I don't even think Fang noticed that he did anything. There was still tension in the air after Max exited the room. Brigid was still clinging to Fang and Angel was shooting her dirty looks. What was Fang thinking?

_Not Fang Iggy, Brigid. _Angel told me in my mind. She scowled. What ever Brigid was thinking about must be pretty bad if it upset Angel this much. I looked over at Fang.

_Ange tell him to meet me outside. _I thought to her. She nodded slightly. I got up muttering something about stretching my legs and walked toward the back door and out into the cool afternoon air. Fang joined me a few minutes later.

"You wanted to see me?" He sake, crossing his arms and leaning against the side of the house.

"Yeah. What the hell?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

I sighed. " Dude why didn't you say Leena was you daughter?"

Fang looked confused. "Hmm?"

"I think you really upset Max. You know she thinks Brigid has a thing for you. In fact all of us pretty much know that Brigid likes you. I think Max was expecting you to tell Brigid that you were Leena's father." I explained.

Fang sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Honestly, that was the farthest thing from my mind. I didn't really see the point. I guess I just assumed that Brigid would understand that Leena's mine."

He sounded confused and tired. In fact, he looked tired. He was paler than usual and had dark circles under his eyes. I wonder how nobody noticed it before now. he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Hey dude you okay?" I asked.

He looked up. "Fine. Why?"

"Well it looks like you haven't gotten a decent nights sleep in days."

"Yeah, a lot on my mind I guess."

"Like?"

He was quit for a minutes, but eventually answered. "This new 'mission' we have o go on….. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why? I mean it's not like we haven't done dangerous things before?"

"Yeah I know, but know we have Leena. I just don't want her to get hurt." Fang had a look in his eyes that I had only seen one other time. It was a look of complete fear. I had seen it before when he found out Max was going o have a baby. The only difference was now, he had no spark of joy to counteract the concern.

"Dude, Leena has the most protective and kick ass parents, not to mention super cool aunts and uncles who would do anything to keep her safe and happy." I said, laughing slightly.

He didn't look convinced.

"Come on. We ran' going to let anything happen to Leena. We all love her too." I said, nudging him with my shoulder.

"Yeah I guess. But I'm her dad. It's my job to protect her."

"Yeah well, maybe you should start by letting Brigid know you're her dad. You can't protect her if Max kills you."

He shrugged. "Point taken."

Fang turned to walk back inside. I followed him. He took his seat next to Brigid and I sat next to Kai. She raised and eyebrow at me. I just nodded and turned back to Fang and Brigid. Kai smiled and put her head on my shoulder. Even though she was Fang's sister, she never really seemed bothered about showing emotions

"So," Brigid began "Nudge showed my a picture of Leena."

"Oh?" Fang asked, leaning back into the couch.

" It's funny. She sure looks a lot like you Fang." Brigid said

"Well she should." Fang said smiling."She's my daughter."

**MRMRMRMRMRMRMRMRMRMR**

**Max POV:**

The ride to get Ella was very quiet. I was sitting in the back with Leena, who had woken up and was starring out the window at the pretty scenery we were passing. I was still thinking about what happened with Fang. I was upset, but Maybe he had a reason? No, no Max. He was wrong and you know it. Maybe he doesn't really love you? Maybe he felt trapped because you had a baby together. Maybe, maybe he doesn't want to get married at all? Or maybe he just doesn't want to marry you? I didn't even realize we had pulled up to Ella's school until my mom was walking back to the car. Ella tapped on my window, snapping me out of my thought. She had a huge smile on her face as she climbed in the front seat.

"Max! I can' believe it!" Ella exclaimed as she buckled her seat belt and turned around to face me. "Mom said you guys would be coming soon, but you're here for Christmas!" She was beaming. "Oh and look at little Leena! She's gotten so big! She looks like her mommy. Oh but I also see her daddy." Ella could have given Nudge a run for her money.

We got back to the house and the Flock was where we had left them. When we walked in I ooh Leena immediately to our room. I let the Flock catch up with my mom and Ella. I spent the remainder of the afternoon locked in the guest room, playing with my beautiful baby girl. It was around six o'clock when i heard a knock on the door.

"Max. It's Fang." He said.

"Go away." I replied, bouncing Ella up and down.

"But-"

"Fang I really don't want to talk please Just leave."

Silence. I heard him sigh. I could almost see him running his hand through his hair. He must have walked away. A few mined later I heard another knock.

"Fang I mean it!" I snarled.

"Jeez Max. I have some dinner for you, but if you don't want it…." I was across he room with Leena and opened the door to reveal Iggy.

"Thanks Ig. Come on in." He did and I locked to door behind him.

Iggy held Leena while I ate. Iggy absolutely adored Leena. He hadn't gotten to actually see Angel grow up, because his sight was stolen from him, so he really enjoyed watching Leena grow and change.I loved watching hem together almost as much as I loved watching Fang with Leena.

"You shouldn't be mad at him you know." Iggy said. Jeez I thought Angel was the mind reader.

"Why shouldn't I." I sighed.

"He feels bad…" Iggy replied.

"I don't care! Iggy please just leave."

"But Max-"

"GO!" I snapped taking Leena back from him.

Iggy jumped up and quickly ran out of the room. I sighed and closed the door. I didn't mean to snap at Iggy. i wasn't mad at Him. I just wanted today to be over. I put Leena in a pair of footy pajamas and put on a pair of black shorts, and purple tank top, and one of fang's hoodies. He hated when I wore his stuff. So naturally I always did. I tucked Leena into her crib, kissed her good night, then curled up in the double bed that seemed far to empty without Fang next to me.

**MRMRMRMRMRMR**

**So there you have it! Sorry for the wait, but it shouldn't be nearly as long this time! Hopefully I will have something up this week! Like i said I have it written, it is just a mater of finding time to type it up. Most of my writing/ typing is done** **at night. Not only am I more creative at night, but it seems to be the only time I have to get things done. The next chapter will have some action. The reason the story is taking place during christmas time is because I actually wrote a one-shot with my two OC's during Christmas, but I turned it into a chapter of this story. Sorry if it seems a bit out of place, but hey it doesn't dramatically change the plot or anything. Please review! Until next time my lovely readers! -LunarWhispers **


	2. A New Threat

**I am ashamed of myself. Waiting almost a month to update, I am so sorry. I'll explain why after this chapter. But I'm back! **

**Disclaimer: ****I do NOT own Maximum Ride. **

**Max POV:**

The instant I woke up, my instincts kicked in and I realized something was wrong. I sat up quickly and glanced over to the crib that mom had put in the room for Leena. It was empty. I threw off the thin blankets and ran down the stairs like charging rhino. Though he was the last person I wanted to see, I knew I had to go and find Fang. As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs, the smell of my moms chocolate chip cookies washed over me. Normally I would be seeking the source of this wonderful smell, but right now I just wanted to find my daughter. I ran into the living room. If Christmas was a person and had the capability of throwing up, it would look like this. Mom had really gone all out. About a dozen stockings of every shape, size, and color hung on the e fireplace. In the corner of the room stood a Christmas tree, which was about half the size of the room that I was staying in upstairs. A box of decorations wear next to it and I assumed mom had been waiting for me so we could all decorate the tree together. The room was completely adorned with tinsel and stringy colorful lights. Mom had even gone as far as to put out a small table with a glass and a plate near the door.

Everyone was here, still in there pajamas. Kai, Nudge, and Angel were looking through some sort of store magazines. Crap. I had completely forgotten to do any type of Christmas shopping. I guess we would just have to go the mall at some point today. Mom was standing on a small step ladder, trying to hang the remainder of the tinsel and other decorations. Gazzy and Iggy were flipping franticly through a bunch of moms large cookbooks. I guess mom was letting the, pick out what we would be having for Christmas dinner. No doubt Iggy would be helping mom cook everything. Fang was sitting on the couch next to Brigid. Okay that I was expecting. What I didn't expect was Brigid to be holding _my _daughter on her lap. I crossed the room within seconds and took Leena out of Brigid's arms. Call me rude all you want, I didn't want her holding my baby. Leena giggle happily. I glared at Brigid. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and turned to watch us.

"Who said you could hold her? I snapped.

Brigid looked taken it back. "Well, no one. But I was walking down the hallway earlier. Everyone was still asleep, but Leena was awake and well I thought I could just play with her until you guys woke up. We have just been getting to know each other a little bit." Brigid sort of cooed the last part.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Brigid. Leena is my daughter. If you were a mother you would understand. I do not like falling asleep with her there and waking up not knowing where she is."

Brigid crossed her arms. "You know. She's Fangs daughter too. He was here with me while you were sleeping. _He _was perfectly fine with it."

I could actually feel my blood pressure rising. "So." I said smiling sweetly. "I guess you finally decided to tell your girlfriend that your a father."

Before he even had a chance to respond to me I spun on my heels and walked quickly up the stairs, taking two of them at a time, Leena still safely in my arms. Like everyone else, Leena and I were both still wearing out pajamas. I honestly had no clue what was going on with Fang lately. He seemed distant. Maybe it wasn't him. Maybe it was me. Maybe he was having second thoughts about being with me. I mean the thought had definitely occurred to me before, and now seeing him with Brigid and my daughter…..well, it hurt.

I placed Leena on her stomach on the bed, making a barrier of pillows so she wouldn't roll off. I handed her one of her favorite stuffed animals. It was a small, soft, plush, puppy with little white wings. Fang had gotten it for her about month ago. She smiled and quickly shoved it's ear in her mouth while opening her own wings. She giggled while rapidly flapping them, but nothing happened. She does this a lot and it was anyones guess as to when she would actually start to fly. I smiled at the thought and walked over to the dresser. Mom had bought us all clothes for the times we stayed here, making sure that there were red and green things for us to wear for Christmas. I got myself a pair of jeans and a long sleeve red plaid shirt, with a black tank top to go underneath. I got Leena a pair of little jeans and a pale pink sweater. Nudge had taken a liking to putting bows in her hair and would freak out if I didn't, so I took a pink one from our collection of rainbow colored ribbons. I quickly got dressed and pulled a comb through my hair I was about to undress Leena when I heard a knock on the door.

"Hello?" I asked while attempting to get the fussing Leena's wings into the small slits we had cut into her shirt.

"Max?" It was Fang. "Can I come in?"

"No." So of course he came in. I sighed and looked at him. "What?"

"I just wanted to know if you're okay." He said putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off and attempted to ignore him. Leena was still squirming and soon began to whimper.

"Shh Lee-lee. It's okay." I cooed.

Fang sat down on the bed next to me and started to tickle Leena's tiny feet. I wanted to tell him to go away and that I was perfectly fine and could dress my daughter on my own. But I didn't. Why? Because dressing a squirming baby is so much easier when said baby is preoccupied with her father and her feet. It took about five more minutes for the two of us to get her completely dressed. Once we did Fang turned back to me.

"You're mad." He said.

"Nooooo. What on earth gave you that idea?" I said rolling my eyes.

Fang smiled. "You know?" He laughed. "You're really cute when your mad."

"Fang."

"What? It's true."

"Fang!"

"Sorry." He said holding his hands up in surrender. "I guess I'm just confused as to why."

I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face. "Well, ever since we got here... and we saw Brigid again-"

"So this is about Brigid?" He intterupted.

"Fang when you didn't tell her Leena was our baby, well... I don't know. It was almost as if you were ashamed of me." I looked away and began rubbing circles on Leena's back.

He was up in an instant and did the last thing i expected him to do. He kissed me. I wasn't just a small little peck on the lips either. It was passionate and full of love. It was so passionate in fact, that if our four month old daughter wasn't in the room, it probably would have led to something more then just kissing. He pulled away and looked me in the eyes.

"Maximum Ride. How could anyone every be ashamed of you?" He gave me one of his rare Fang smiles (though Iggy says he has been smiling more ever since Leena cam. I personally don't see it.). He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand.

I looked away. "I see the way you look at her."

"Who?" He whispered.

"Brigid! You look at her like she is the only one in the room. You have looked at hr that way ever since we met her." I stood up, leaving Fang sitting next to Leena on the bed. I walked of to the window. It had a great view of the back yard. I slowly slid my engament ring of my finger. "I want you to be happy, and if your not sure... I don't want to hold you back."

Fang got up, taking Leena with him and puting her on his hip. He walked over to me and the the ring out of my hand. He tilted my chin up to his face forcing my eyes to meet his. He opeened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by and explosion that sent both of us flying- no pun intented.

**Kai's POV:**

It took a few minutes, but Fang finally realized he had done something that pissed Max off so he went upstairs to see if she was okay. Obviously she wasn't, but my thick headed brother was completly oblivious to the fact that he was the one tha was bothering her. Personally, I don't blame her. There was something about this Brigid chick that just rubbed me the wrong way. Or maybe I didn't like her because she semmed to rub Fang in a completly different way. After Fang went upstairs things got pretty awkward. Dr. Martinez had to go to work and Ella was at the library doing some project that quote "He good for nothing ass of a teacher gave her over the holidays" her teacher had assigned them over break. None of us had gone Christmas shopping. Max had told us we would go to the Mall and we would each have a hundred dollar budget to get a gift for everyone.

"So everyone, when Fang gets back we can all go to the Mall together and et our Christmas shopping done." Brigis said in an all too cheery voice.

Angels eyes narrowed. "Fang and Max. " She said bitterly.

"Oh. Yes. Of cous\rse." Brigid said suddeny becoming very interest\ed in her magazine.

Angel smirked and sent me a message in my minde. ._ Don't orry Kai I can deal with the red headed wonder. _This comment confused me, but I went along with it.

"So Brigid." Angel began. Brigid looked up from her magazine at her. "Did Fang invite you to the wedding yet?"

Well that got her attention.

"Wedding?" She asked.

"Mhmmm. Fang and Max's wedding." Angel smiled angelicly.

Befor Brigid even had the oppertunity to answer a loud BOOM! from upstairs shook the entire house violently. Gazzy grabbed Angel and Nudge and Iggy wrapped his arms around me. We all looked at each other, frozen for a breif moment, and the simotaniously bolted up the stairs.

**Fang's POV:**

Right before I could tell Max that she was being completly and udderly ridiculous, the wall exploded. I was thrown backwards onto the bed. Leena was still in my arms, so I did what any father would do. I braced myself for impact, curling my body protectivly aorund her. I somehow managed to hold onto Max's ring. When the dust began to settle I did a systems check. Other then a small twinge of pain in my left ankle, I felt fine. Leena was crying, but seemed fine other then a few cuts and bruises. Max was...wait a minute. Where was she? She was right in front of me! My thoughts were interuppted by a loud knock and the door and someone calling my name from the otherside of it. That and a hoarse coughing noise. The coughing continued and I knew it was MAx, though I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"Max!" I yelled and then began coughing myself. I jumped to my feet and winced slightly as I applied pressure to my ankle.

More coughing.

"Max where are you!" Leena's crying continued and got louder, making it harder to hear the coughing.

"Over here!" Came the hoarse reply.

Max had been blown sideways and into another wall. The wall we had been stading at seemed to be completly gone. Well tat is except for the slab that was on top of Max. She was bleeding, but I couldn't tell where from. I walked over to her and knelt beside her.

"Oh god Max are you okay?" I whispered.

"Yeah." She coughed. "But i can't move. I'm stuc under this thing."

"There's no way I'm going to be able to move that thing on my own. Let me see if I can go get some help. I'll be right back. I promise." I stood up again.

She nodded. I stroked her cheeked and then turned to walk/ limp over to the door. I took Leena with me. She was whimpereing now, her head resting on my shoulder. THe banging on the door form before continued. I could hear the rest of the flock and Brigid arguing and screaming for me.

"Maybe they fell through the floor?"

"I doubt it Gazzy, in fact Fang can her us now."

"FANG I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T ANSWER RIGHT NOW I'M GONNA MAKE IT SO YOU CAN'T HAVE ANYMORE CHILDREN!" Kai screamed.

"Chill sis. I'm right here." I replied.

"Oh god fang are you all okay?" Nudge exclaimed.

"Um we're all alive. Define okay?"

"Okay as in is anyone hurt? What the hell happened!" Iggy exclaimed.

"Not entirely sure. We can figure it out later, but right now we need help. Someone go call Dr. M." I ordered.

"On it." Someone, I think Angel said.

"Okay now Iggy, I need you to go outside and fly into the room. You too Gazzy. Kai come and get Leena, you too Nudge. I need you guys to take care of her for me." I told them.

"Why do you need us?" Iggy asked.

"Max is stuck under some rubbled. I can't life it on my own." I explained.

Everyone murmerd their agreement and I heard shuffling. I turned back to Max. She was struggleing to get free, pulling this way and that way. I smiled, but immediatly it fell when I heard a pop and she whimpered. I knelt next to her again.

"You're making it worse and you know it." I said putting ahand on her shoulder. I looked at Leena who was all but sleeping now. "Your mommy's a fighter huh?"

Max stopped struggling and looked at us. "And your daddy is great under pressure." Her voice sounded drained and tierd.

"Just try to relax Max. We'll have you out of there in no time." I tried to reassure her.

Leena lifted her head up and reached her hands foward, towards her mother. I smiled and moved her a little closer. Max reached out with her free arm and attempted to wipe some of the dust of Leena's cheek. All she really did was move it around a bit. Our little moment was cut short by Iggy, Kai, and Gazzy swooping in through the hole in the wall.

"Oh my gosh!" She exlaimed. "What the hell-"

I cut her off. "Baby in the room."

"Max blew up Itex, I thought this was over." Gazzy said shaking hhis head.

Iggy was surveying the room, most likely trying to figure out waht type of bomb could have done this. I stood up and handed Leena to Kai. Leena was not happy about leaving her mothers side or my arms.

"Come on now princess. Daddy is just going to go help mommy then we will both be with you agin. Auntie Kai will take real good care of you." I assured her. She whimpered again. I turned to look at Kai. "Kai, clean her up and change her we'll be with you as soon as we can."

"Sure thing bro." She said, taking Leena and her already packed diaper bag. She jumped out of the window to meet Nudge who was hovering outside.

"Okay guys. These need to come off." I said, gesturing to larger pieces of concrete. I took hold of one side. Iggy grabbed another and so did Gazzy. Max's eyes began to flutter and droop.

"Max don't you dare go to sleep." I warned her.

"Hmm?" She mumbled.

"Max, Fang's right. You may have a concussion." Iggy said.

"Mmmm... I'll," she yawned. "try. I'm just so -OW!"

"Sorry!" Iggy exclaimed.

Max swore under her breath I knew she hated feelinf weak. It took us only a few minuted to get all of the rubble off of her. She tried to stand, but couldn't. I went to pick her up, but Iggy stopped me.

"Your hurt too dude." He said simply, then he picked Max up. She was struggling to keep her eylids open.

"Let's jsut get her to her mom. Kai may be able to help with this too." I sighed. I jumped out the window. Gazzy and Iggy were close behind me.

**Again I am so sorry about the wait. My comptuer crashed and I had to wait forever to get a new one. Also, I lost motivation for this story because it didn't get the feedback I thought it would. The reason I started agin was because my sister read the first one and I didn't want to disappoint her by not continuing. PLease Review! The more reviews the more motivation I have to keep writing. I promise the wait won;t be as long this time (I ave the next two chapters written I just need to type and edit them!) Until next time my lovely readers -LunarWhispers.**


	3. The Silent Obsever

**I am so so so so so sorry! The updates will become more frequent as soon as June is over I promise! I hope this chapter makes up for it. **

**Disclaimer: ****Do I really need to say it?**

**Kai's POV**

"Shh. Mommy and Daddy will be here soon. Please don't cry sweetie." I cooed to Leena, who crying rather loudly.

"Dr. Martinez said she'll be home in about fifteen minutes." Angel said as she walked into the room with Brigid. She tilted her head slightly, as if listening to the celling. "And the guys almost have Max out from under the wall. They should be down soon."

Angel ability to read minds will never stop being weird. Cool beyond belief, and useful, defineitly, but weird. Angel sat crossed legged on the coffee table and Brigid retreated into a corner of the room. I sat on the couch and placed Leena on my lap, bouncing her up and down in a futile attempt to calm her down. Drops of water fell from her hair, which was wet from the impromptu bath we gave her in the kitchen sink. She was wearing a onesie with jeans over it. She looked miserable. Clean, but miserable. Her bath revealed a few scraps, but nothing to serious. Nudge walked over, sat down next to me, and stroked Leena's cheek.

"It's okay baby girl. Mommy and daddy are almost here." Nudge whispered. Leena sobbed harder. I tried rocking her back and forth, but it didn't work. Damn it Fang, where are you? As if on cue, Fang landed outside and headed into the house.

"Fang!" Brigid, who had been very quiet up until this point, exclaimed as she rushed over from the corner she had been residing in. "I was worried." She went to hug him, but he brushed passed her and walked over to the couch Nudge and I were on.

"Guys where's Doctor Martinez?" He asked sharply. He was paler than usual. His face was bruised and scraped and he seemed to be walking with a limp. I stood up and handed him his daughter. Leena stopped crying immediately and Fang held her close to him.

"She should be here soon." I replied. He nodded just as Iggy walked in carrying Max. Her face was facing away from me, but she was covered in dirt. Nudge stood up and walked over to Gazzy and demanded to know what happened. Iggy deposited Max on the couch then walked over to me. He hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead.

"Is she okay?" I whispered.

Iggy nodded. "A few broken ribs and some serious bruising, but I mean, come on its Max we're talking about. She'll be back up and bossing us all around by lunch"

I glanced over to Fang and Max. Max was propped up by some pillows into a sitting position, and Fang was kneeling next to her, holding Leena. They both looked absolutely beat. Leena, on the other hand, looked ecstatic. She was squealing and making happy baby noises. Max smiled and stroked her daughter's cheek. I looked around at everyone and we nodded to each other in an unspoken agreement. We all headed into the kitchen (though I'm pretty sure Angel had to "convince" Brigid). I would have to heal Max later. We wanted to give them their moment, but we also wanted to be close to them because someone was obviously out to get us. Again.

**Max's POV**

I watched as everyone exited the room. Brigid looked a little reluctant, but Angel looked at her and she followed. Usually I don't condone Angel's mind tricks, but I think in this case I would be able to make an exception. Leena had a fist full of Fang's hair, but he didn't seem to mind. He shifted from his knees to a sitting position, wincing slightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." He mumbled.

"Fang." I said in a tone that said 'tell me or i'll punch you'.

"Max."

"Tell. Me. Now." I said slowly.

He sighed. "Sprained ankle. I'm fine, it's no big deal."

"Fang, if you're hurt it is a big deal."

"It doesn't even hurt." He tried to reassure me.

"Don't lie to me." I said sternly.

"I'm not." He whispered. Before I could respond, he shifted Leena- who was still playing with his hair- to one arm and pulled something out of his jean pocket. My eyes widened when I realized it was my engagement ring. "Can you promise me something?" he asked.

"What?" I replied looking him in the eye.

He placed Leena in his lap and took my hand in his. He slid the ring onto my finger. "Never, ever, take this off again."

His dark eyes bore into mine. It took me a minute to respond. "Of course." I whispered.

He smiled and kissed me. Leena giggled and reached her hands toward me, clenching and unclenching them. I gave her my finger and her eyelids began to droop. It was eleven in the morning. Usually she took a nap at twelve, but this mornings events must have taken a lot out of her.

"Someone's sleepy." I laughed.

As if to enforce this idea, Leena yawned. "Maybe you should put her down for a nap in mom's room." My mom's room on the first floor and had a pack and play in it for Leena.

Fang nodded. He stood up, kissed me again, and walked down the hall towards mom's room. I sighed and closed my eyes. My side hurt. I definitely did some damage to a rib or two. I was also pretty sure my shoulder was dislocated. I didn't tell Fang. He was annoyingly over-protective. My eyes snapped open when I heard the front door slam open. I sat up quickly, but regretted it immediately.

"Max! Fang! Where are they!" My mom was screaming frantically.

"Relax Dr. Martinez. Fang went to put Leena down for a nap and Max is on the couch." I heard Angel say sweetly.

Mom ran into the living room and saw me. "Max, are you okay?" She demanded.

"Yeah. Just some bumps and br-" I began

"She has a few cracked ribs" Iggy interrupted, walking into the

"And her shoulder's bothering her." Angel added.

Oh, yeah. Mind reader. Iggy shot me a look that said 'you are so gonna get it later'. "Oh yeah, guess I forgot to mention that." I said lamely.

Mom walked over and began examining me. She popped my shoulder in and wrapped my ribs. She left me sitting on the couch and said she wanted to go pick up Ella in case the person who did this went after her. I wanted to tell her I doubted they would, but I kept my mouth shut. Brigid called the crew to warn them as well. Iggy was making Mac and Cheese for lunch. Angel and Nudge decided to take Leena, who had woken up after about thirty minutes, outside to play. Fang, who had his ankle wrapped in an ace bandage, was playing some card game in the kitchen with Gazzy. Total and Akila wanted some "alone time", so they went for a walk. Kai was sitting in the living room with me.

"So do you have any ideas as to who might have done this?" Kai asked. She had healed me as much as she could, but there was only so much her power would do. I was still a bit sore, but I would be fine in a few hours. She was currently sitting on the floor painting her toe nails a dark purple color.

"A couple." I shrugged. "But none that really mean anything right now."

Kai nodded and put down the nail polish. "Yeah. I guess the best thing we can do now is wait." She took a piece of purple hair and began twirling it in her fingers. "What do you thin our new mission is?"

"I haven't got a clue. I'm sure Angel knows from reading Brigid's mind, and Fang might know because Brigid loves to share _everything _with him. But I haven't been told anything." I pulled my legs up so I was sitting criss cross on the couch.

"Don't worry about Brigid." Kai said, hosting herself up so she was sitting on the coffee table. "If she goes to far out of line I know five people who will help you knock some sense into her." She laughed. The door opened suddenly and Angel skipped into the room laughing, followed by Nudge carrying a smiling Leena.

"We had so much fun, didn't we Leena?" Nudge laughed, tickling Leena's stomach.

"Oh did you now?" A voice said. I turned to see Fang leaning against the door to the kitchen.

Nudge turned to look at him, smiled, and nodded. "Yeah! We went flying! Did you know she loves flying? she is so cute when she's trying to flap her wings and fly, even though she is way to teeny to actually fly right now. Oh, but still she's so-"

"We get it Nudge." Fang smirked.

She stuck her tongue out at him. She walked over to me and hand me my daughter. Leena's cheeks were flushed and she was was smiling. "You like playing with your aunties don't you." I smiled as I kissed her forehead. I didn't know who this knew threat was, but I knew one thing. I would never let them touch my daughter.

****

**Fang's POV:**

After about an hour of arguing, and a lot of screaming on both sides, Max finally convinced Dr. Martinez that she didn't need to give up her room. Dr. M had explained that no one was available to fix the wall until after the holidays, and that she would be perfectly fine sleeping on an air mattress, but Max didn't give up. She claimed that we were used to sleeping in trees and subway tunnels and that an air mattress would be more then enough. In the end, Dr. Martinez agreed to take the bed, mainly because she knew Max would never stand down. The air mattress was set up in the guest bedroom and the whole in the wall was covered with a sheet. Iggy and I had cleared away a bunch of the rubble from a large area of the room. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. Max was sitting on the edge of the air mattress holding Leena.

She laughed. "Leena, how can you still be awake."

I walked over to her and put my arms around her. "So Leena's still awake huh?"

"She looked at me over her shoulder. "Yeah. I don't know how though. She had a long day. She should have been asleep awhile ago."

I reached down and stroked her cheek. "Please go to sleep baby girl." She blinked up at me and grabbed my finger. She stuck it in her mouth. Max laughed.

"Maybe she's hungry?" I suggested.

"No. I just fed her."

"Needs to be changed?"

"Done."

"You could try singing to her." He suggested. We looked at each other for a few seconds and then we both started laughing. I lay down on my back . Max Lay down beside me and placed Leena in between us. She pulled the blanket so it was covering the three of us. She placed a bin kin in Leena's mouth and began to stroke her cheek. I rolled to my side and lay my arm over the both of them.

"Max?" I whispered.

"Hmm?" She mumbled not looking away from out daughter.

"I love you."

She looked up at me. "I love you too Fang."

She closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep. Leena followed soon after. I spent a while watching my two girls sleep. Soon enough I drifted off into sleep with the two most beautiful girls in the world next to me and the explosion that occurred before the farthest thing from my mind.

**No POV:**

While the sweet family scene took place inside the house a boy crouched in the tallest branch of the tree just outside the Martinez residence. He was about fifteen years old. His tanned skin and light brown hair seemed to glisten in the moonlight. He watched intently with his green eyes.

The boy, whose name was Noah, watched through the window that hadn't been blown to bits as the one called Maximum Ride laughed at something the tall dark one had said. He could see clearly with his raptor vision. The two were looking at the small child that Maximum held. The boy settled onto the mattress and soon Maximum followed. She settled the child between them.

Noah felt bad for the child. She truly was precious and innocent. But she would have suffer for what her parents had done. What her mother had done. Noah had sent the bomb as a message. Soon the real battle would begin. Maximum Ride had destroyed his home, his family. The only home he had ever know. The only people who had ever really cared about him. He opened his midnight blue wings a little, flexing them a bit.

He was a freak and he knew it. He was told there were others who were similar to him, but he was told he was different. He was stronger. Faster. Better. The director of Itex had been something of a mother to Noah. Though Noah wasn't her favorite experiment (Omega and Alpha had that position covered) she always treated him kindly. Omega and Alpha were almost like brothers to him. But they were gone now. Either missing or dead, most likely the latter. Noah had almost died as well. But he was found and spared by the man who had found him.

Noah watched as the dark one drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Noah smirked at the way his arm was protectively over the two sleeping girls. Noah grimaced. He turned his attention to the next room. The four girls who resided there were all awake and laughing at something they were reading in a magazine. Noah's attention went to dark skinned teenager. She was very pretty. He watched as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and pointed to something in a book. She tucked her knees to her chest and everyone laughed again. The creepy blond girl hit the pretty dark skinned one with a pillow.

"Noah." A voice called, interrupting his thoughts. Noah tapped the communicator in his ear, not taking his eyes off of the dark skinned girl.

"Yes sir?" Noah replied.

"Are you ready for phase two?"

Noah tore his eyes away from the dark skinned bueaty and took a deep breath. "Yes, sir. Yes I am."

**Sorry it took so long. I was going to sit it off at the Max and Fang scene in the guest bedroom, but I decided to introduce another one of my OC's. What do you think? Please, please review. I am struggling with writers block right now, but I do have a pretty good idea as to where I am taking this story. Let me know if you have anything you want to see happen and I'll see what I can do :). Until next update -LunarWhispers**


	4. Encounter

**Hey Guys! I had a chance so I decide to update! I really like how this chapter turned out. So instead of telling you about it I'm just going to let you read. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: ****James Patterson owns the Flock and their adventures. Not me. **

**Max's POV:**

I sighed. "You're kidding me."

"No Max. I'm sorry." My mom smiled sympathetically.

"But-"

"Max." Mom interrupted. "It has to be done."

I sighed. Mom and I were sitting on the front steps and Leena was on stomach on a blanket by our feet, tugging at the small golden locket that Fang and I had gotten her for Christmas two weeks ago. We had just been hanging around moms house for the last couple weeks. This morning, mom had come home from work for lunch and told me that we needed to talk alone.

"Alaska? Really?"

"Yes. I'm really sorry Max."

"But Alaska's cold." I complained.

"Not as cold as Antarctica." She reasoned. " you survived there."

Leena squealed happily and Mom and I looked over to see her playing with a worm she had found on the ground. She was somehow covered in dirt.

"Leena! No!" I jumped up and walked over to her. I picked her up, and tried to wipe the dirt of of her face. It just made it worse. She needed a bath. Mom chuckled slightly.

I sighed. "When so we have to Leave?"

Mom bit her lip.

"Mom."

"Tomorrow. Around four in the morning." She whispered.

"Really? Why didn't you tell me sooner!"

"Yes. Max I'm-"

"Please don't say sorry. It's not your fault." I replied and stood up. "So where in Alaska?"

She bit her lip again.

"Mom."

"Barrow."

"Barrow?"

"Brigid will explain it to you on the plane ride over there, but let's just say its,well, it's very far north. And it's cold. Very, very cold. But it is very important that you go."

"Okay mom." I said. "But I'm not going for Brigid, I'm going for you."

She smiled, stood up and hugged me. "Thank you Max."

"Well, Leena needs to be changed. I'm gonna take her inside."

Mom nodded. " Okay. I have to go to work. I'll see you tonight. We'll order pizza."

The Flock was sitting in the living room watching some movie. The room was dark and each flock member had a bag of microwaved popcorn. Brigid was there too. She was sitting on the arm of the chair Fang was sitting in. It made me want to puke. I rolled my eyes and continued to wake up the stairs. Leena needed a bath. I got to the guest bedroom. The hole from the blast was pretty much fixed, it just needed to be painted and stuff. I walked over to the changing table and put Leena on it. I ticked her stomach and she giggled. Strong arms wrapped around my waist.

"Hey." Fang whispered in my ear.

I spun around, keeping one hand Leena's stomach, and smiled at him. "Hi. Didn't want to watch the movie?"

"Eh, I'd rather be with my two favorite girls." He kissed my forehead. "So what are we doing?"

"I was just going to go give Leena a bath. Want to help?"

Fang laughed. "Why not."

"Okay. Grab her some clothes. I'll meet you in the bathroom." I said turning to pick up Leena.

"Oh and what are you guys gonna do in the bathroom?"

Fang and I both turned quickly to see Iggy leaning against the door frame, his arms were crossed and he was smiling. I rolled my eyes and picked up my daughter.

"Jeez Ig." Fang muttered walking over to Iggy. "What's your problem."

Iggy rolled his eyes and laughed.

"For your information Ig," I said walking over to them with Leena in my arms "We were going to give Leena a bath."

"Oh, okay." Iggy shrugged and turned to leave.

"Oh Iggy, tell everyone to pack. We're leaving really early tomorrow." He turned around and frowned at me.

"Did you find out where we're going?" He asked.

I groaned. "Yeah."

Iggy and Fang looked at each other and then back to me. "What?" Fang asked skeptically.

"We're going to Alaska guys." I moaned.

"Oooooh." Iggy said, then he laughed. "So you're upset because it's Alaska and Alaska is-"

"Cold." I finished for him.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Duh." Then he turned to Fang. "So the movie's over. The girls wanted to go to the mall. Gazzy and I are gonna go with them and go to the arcade or something. Want to go?"

I could tell that he wanted to go. "I was going to help Max give Leena a bath." He replied.

"Nah Fang it's okay, go. If you're not back by the time I'm done giving her a bath, I'll fly over to the mall to meet you guys."

Fang looked at me skeptically. "Are you sure?"

I waved a hand at him. "Go. Have fun."

He walked over to me, wrapped an arm around my waist on the side I wasn't holding Leena, and kissed me. "Thanks. See you soon."

"Get a room." Iggy half mumbled, half laughed.

"We have one, but you're in it." He replied.

I laughed and he kissed me again. He then kissed Leena on her forehead. "See you later Lee-lee." He said with a smile. Leena was one of the only people (aside from me) that Fang would smile twenty four seven four. He left the room with Iggy. I grabbed the baby shampoo and soap, and Leena's towel and headed for the bath room. Leena had stared to sit up on her own about a week ago so we stared giving her baths in the tub. Mom had went out and bought a few bath toys. I told her Leena didn't need them, but she insisted it was her job as a grandmother to make sure Leena was completely spoiled. I filled the tub up just enough with warm water.

"Okay Lee-lee, bath time."

**Fang's POV:**

"So, Max told you all where we're going tomorrow?" Brigid asked. She was in the drivers seat of the expedition she had rented when she got here. I was next to her in the passengers seat and the rest of the Flock was in the back. It was Wednesday and Ella was at school and Dr. M was at work.

"Um, no." Kai answered. She was sitting on Iggy's lap, even though there was an extra seat.

"Oh yeah." Iggy answered her. "We forgot to tell you. She told us before upstairs. Were going to Alaska."

"Dang it." Gazzy said.

"Why? You enjoyed Antarctica didn't you?" Nudge asked him.

"Well yeah. But Max hates to cold. So now we're going to have to deal with a cold and pissed off Max." Gazzy explained.

"True." I sighed. "But we'll have Leena with us this time. It's harder for max to loose it when she has Leena in her arms."

"Oh, you guys plan on bringing Leena?" Brigid asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we?" Why would she think we wouldn't bring her?

"Well I just thought, you know, all the traveling and then the cold…" She said awkwardly.

Iggy snorted. "Brigid, Leena has been traveling around since before she was born. I think she'll be fine."

"We'll babies tend to be bothered by the air pressure in planes. And we will be taking a plane there." Brigid explained. Did she not want us to bring Leena?

Everyone laughed.

"Brigid. In case you forgot, we're part bird. So is Leena. She's been flying before." Kai explained.

"Oh right. Of course." Brigid said, blushing slightly.

The conversation ended when we pulled into the parking lot of the Mall. We pilled out off the car and split into two groups. The boys and the girls. Brigid said she had to run a few errands in preparation for tomorrow, so she went off on her own. We headed to the arcade in the back section of the Mall. Gazzy had brought about seven or eight rolls of quarters (though I had no idea where he had gotten them from) and we decided them equally amount the three of us. The arcade was pretty much empty, which made sense because it was the middle of the week and most kids were at school. It felt kind of funny being here. I mean here I was, an eighteen year old guy, who had a kid, playing in an arcade. Iggy and Gazzy walked over to one of the shooting games and began to play against each other. I was walking over to watch them when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I turned around and no one was there. I walked over to join Iggy and Gazzy, but I couldn't shale the feeling someone had been watching me.

**Nudge's POV (Surprised? No. Okay):**

"This one?" I asked Angel, holding up a super cute shirt.

"No, go with the pink one, it's more you." She responded.

"You're so right." I exchanged the blue top for the almost identical pink one and went over the counter to pay. We had been shopping fro about forty five minutes and I hadn't gotten tired of it at all. I don't know how Max could hate doing this. It was so much fun! I felt like a model when I was in the dressing room and who doesn't love cute clothes. My new favorite thing was going shopping with Leena. She was so much fun to dress up. Max had given us each some money at the beginning of the week. It was almost like and allowance, but we didn't need to do anything to earn it. Well except like stay out of trouble and stuff.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go to that salon place we saw before. I wanna change these purple hair pieces to like blue or something." Kai said walking over to the counter to meet us.

"Oooh can I go with you! I want to get a feather!" Angel exclaimed.

Kai rolled her eyes but nodded. "Nudge you want to come?"

"Nah. I'm gonna go get something to eat. Meet you guys in the food court?" I replied.

"Sure, see you in a bit." Angel grabbed Kai's arm and pulled her to the exit.

I left the store and headed for the food court. The mall was pretty empty, but it was a quarter to two so it would probably be filling up in about an hour or so. One of the perks about not having to go to school was the fact that we could go to the Mall whenever, though I still wanted to go to school. I was going to approach Max about it after the mission. I bought a smoothie and some fries and sat down at a table. I felt like a total dork sitting alone. I hoped Kai and Angel would hurry up.

"Hello. Mind if I join you?" I voice asked. I looked up and was met with the greenest eyes I have ever seen. They belonged to a tall, fairly muscular boy. He had light brown hair that fell over his eyes. He had on black skinny jeans, a red t-shirt and a black hoodie. He was, well to put it simply, hot. I smiled at him and nodded. He smiled back, showing off perfectly straight white teeth, and sat down.

"Hi. I'm Nu-icole." I said, catching myself.

"Nu-icole?" He asked, laughing a bit.

"My friends call me Nudge. It's my nickname. But my names Nicole."

"Well hello Nicole. Or can I call you Nudge?" He said, leaning back in his seat.

Oh you can call me whatever you want, I thought to myself, but I replied "Sure, if you want to."

"Well Nudge, I just saw you sitting here and I thought to myself 'What's a pretty girl like you doing all by yourself.' Shouldn't you be in school ?"

"Well shouldn't you be in school?" I replied.

He laughed. "Touché." Then he shrugged. "Anyway schools not really my thing. I'd rather spend my time talking to nice strangers like you." I blushed. "And what about you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why aren't you in school?"

I shrugged too, trying to act casual. We had planned out what to do if asked about school. "Home schooled."

"Ahh." He said. He reached toward my fries, but paused about half way. "Do you mind?" I shook my head and pushed the fries closer to him, then reached for one. He reached for one at the same time and our hands touched. I could have sworn I felt a shock run up and down my arm. I guess he felt it too because he pulled his hand away quickly, without taking a french fry. There was an awkward silence. I was thankful when my phone buzzed, telling me I had a text.

"Sorry." I said to him with a smile. "Can I check this?" He waved his hand as if the say 'By all means'.

The text was from Kai and it read: _We're almost done. You still in the food court?_

I replied: _Coolio. Yeah I'm still here. Want me to wait?_

I looked back up to him. He was staring at me, a small smile dancing on the corner of his mouth. "You have really pretty eyes." He said.

I blushed again. "Thank you."

My phone buzzed again. Kai had replied: _Yeah. Be there in fifteen. Oh and Max and Leena are with us. _

The fact that Leena was here and I could pick clothes out for her would have normally had me jumping up and down, but now all I could do was stare at this strange, cute, boy. "My sisters are on their way. Want to meet them?" I asked,

He grimaced. "I'm not very good at talking to people."

"You're fine with talking to me."

Hi smiled. "I don't know why Nu-icole. But you seem different. Easier to talk to." I smiled too. He stood up. "I'd like to see you again."

My smile fell.

His smile fell too. "What?" He asked, sounding upset. "You don't want to see me again."

"No!" I said to quickly. He raised an eyebrow at me. "No. It's nothing like that. It's just, well, my family is going out of town tomorrow. My great aunt is sick. We are leaving really early, like before the sun even wants to start to rise early, and I don't know when we will be coming back." I mentally pat myself on the back for coming up with that on the spot.

His gorgeous smile returned. "Is that all? Well then I'll just have meet you tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. Tonight. Eight o'clock. In front of the Mall. Sound good?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Hold out your hand." He said.

"What?"

"Your hand. Hold it out."

I did what he said. He pulled out a pen and scribbled something on the palm of my hand. I looked at it and realized it was a phone number. He clicked the pen and put it back in his pocket. "Text me. Let me know it's you." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" I called quickly as I came to a startling realization.

He turned around to look at me.

"You never told me your name."

He grind and walked over to me. He bent down and whispered in my ear. "Noah."

He walked away leaving me to stare hopelessly after him until he rounded the corner and disappeared. I was still staring at the spot where Noah had vanished, smiling like an idiot, when Max, Leena, Angel, and Kai came to meet me.

**So what do you thing? As I said before I really like the way chapter turned out. Originally I had a chapter in between the previous one and this one that was about Christmas and how the Flock spent it. I took it out because I wanted to get to the plot and it was pure fluff. I can still post it as a One-shot if you guys want me to. PM me or review, if one person wants to see it then i'll post it. Please remember to review :).-LunarWhispers **


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